Hayden: NSA programs not abused

Government data collection programs have not been used excessively or unlawfully, former NSA and CIA Director Michael Hayden said Sunday.

Appearing on NBC's “Meet the Press,” the retired general said he sees the potential for privacy problems in the sweeping collections of citizens’ phone-call and electronic data but that the NSA data collection programs were implemented and executed in a lawful manner.

“There is no abuse and, by the way, I don’t see any unlawfulness, either. This is all done according to the Madisonian formula: The president authorized, the legislature legislated and the courts oversaw,” Hayden said. “We can have a legitimate argument among free people as to whether or not it's wise as to whether or not we generally agree whether its a proper balance between liberty and security, but there was no abuse.”

Hayden also rejected some of the conclusions reached by New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza, who wrote that the legal principles of probable cause have been inverted by the NSA.

“We’re protected against unreasonable search and seizure. It doesn’t say that all searches must be based upon reasonable suspicion,” Hayden said.

Hayden also rebuffed critics in Congress like Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) who have faulted the amount of information provided to Congress about the nature of the programs that they approved legislatively.

“That’s been overstated in terms of the ignorance of the legislative branch in knowing what’s been going on. [National Intelligence Director] Jim Clapper wrote letters to Congress in '09 and 2011 in which he explicitly said: ‘Hey guys, we’re getting it all in terms of the metadata in terms of phone calls,” Hayden said.